Best Community Colleges in Maryland 2025
The best community colleges provide an effective springboard into higher education, offering students high-quality two-year degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The top-rated community colleges in Maryland offer a broad selection of associate’s degrees, affordable tuition rates, and strong partnerships with public four-year schools so that students can easily transfer their credits into accredited bachelor’s degree programs.
Key Takeaways
- Many top community colleges in Maryland, such as Anne Arundel Community College, have articulation agreements with institutions like the University of Maryland, allowing for seamless credit transfer and guaranteed admission to bachelor’s degree programs for students who meet certain criteria.
- With Maryland being a hub for technology and life sciences, community colleges like Montgomery College offer cutting-edge programs in cybersecurity, biotechnology, and data science, providing students with access to advanced labs, industry certifications, and internships with local tech companies and research institutions.
- Maryland’s community colleges, especially those near Washington, D.C., provide unique internship and job placement opportunities with federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense, offering students practical experience in government-related fields such as public policy, healthcare, and security.
10 Best Community Colleges in Maryland in 2025
2025 Ranking Update
Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.
In 2025, the top ten schools in our ranking of the best community colleges in Maryland saw a considerable amount of movement. Baltimore City Community College gained the most ranking positions as a result of the school developed its Healthcare and Allied Health Programs, with new state-of-the-art simulation labs that offer hands-on training in nursing, medical technology, and emergency services.
The college has also enhanced its Workforce Development Center, providing more opportunities for career training in high-demand fields such as cybersecurity, business, and logistics, with expanded partnerships with local employers for internships and job placement.
We’ve identified 16 community colleges in Maryland. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in Maryland.
Best Community Colleges in Maryland
- #3 50 Best Community Colleges for Future Success in 2025 #1 Best Online Associate in English 2025 #1 Best Online Associate in Gender Studies #1 Best Online Associate Degrees in Maryland 2025
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
27%
Student body
15K
Career Outlook for degree at Anne Arundel Community College
Cost of Degree: $8,186Starting Salary: $42,200What is Anne Arundel Community College known for?
Anne Arundel Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #24 50 Best Community Colleges for Future Success in 2025 #2 Best Online Associate Degrees in Maryland 2025 #2 Best Online Associate in Communications #9 Best Online Associate's in General Science 2025
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
28%
Student body
24K
Career Outlook for degree at Montgomery College
Cost of Degree: $10,398Starting Salary: $46,000What is Montgomery College known for?
Montgomery College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Criminal Justice
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Sociology
- Communications
- Education
- Business
- Nursing
- Medical
- Social Work
Most Influential Alumni
- #6 Best Schools for Becoming an Air Traffic Controller in 2024 #1 Best Online Associate in Health Information Technology & Informatics #3 Best Online Associate Degrees in Maryland 2025 #5 Best Online Associate in Human Services
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
16%
Student body
23K
Career Outlook for degree at Community College of Baltimore County
Cost of Degree: $6,918Starting Salary: $38,700What is Community College of Baltimore County known for?
Community College of Baltimore County’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
28%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Cecil College
Cost of Degree: $8,760Starting Salary: $36,700What is Cecil College known for?
Cecil College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
17%
Student body
15K
Career Outlook for degree at Prince George's Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,194Starting Salary: $43,700What is Prince George's Community College known for?
Prince George's Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #4 Best Online Associate Degrees in Maryland 2025 #18 Best Online Associate in Human Services #24 Best Online Associate in Early Childhood Education
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
10%
Student body
5K
Career Outlook for degree at Baltimore City Community College
Cost of Degree: $3,314Starting Salary: $32,500What is Baltimore City Community College known for?
Baltimore City Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
32%
Student body
8K
Career Outlook for degree at College of Southern Maryland
Cost of Degree: $7,350Starting Salary: $40,600What is College of Southern Maryland known for?
College of Southern Maryland’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
23%
Student body
13K
Career Outlook for degree at Howard Community College
Cost of Degree: $7,920Starting Salary: $44,000What is Howard Community College known for?
Howard Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
32%
Student body
<1K
Career Outlook for degree at Garrett College
Cost of Degree: $9,352Expenses: $12,084Starting Salary: $31,600Cost Recoup Time: 13 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Garrett College known for?
Garrett College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
35%
Student body
5K
Career Outlook for degree at Hagerstown Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,390Starting Salary: $37,000What is Hagerstown Community College known for?
Hagerstown Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- #7 Best Online Associate Degrees in Maryland 2025 #18 Best Online Associate in Emergency Management 2025
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
33%
Student body
7K
Career Outlook for degree at Frederick Community College
Cost of Degree: $7,444Starting Salary: $42,100What is Frederick Community College known for?
Frederick Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
29%
Student body
6K
Career Outlook for degree at Harford Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,302Starting Salary: $36,500What is Harford Community College known for?
Harford Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
35%
Student body
3K
Career Outlook for degree at Allegany College of Maryland
Cost of Degree: $9,080Expenses: $16,070Starting Salary: $33,200Cost Recoup Time: 14 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Allegany College of Maryland known for?
Allegany College of Maryland’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
28%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Chesapeake College
Cost of Degree: $6,344Starting Salary: $31,200What is Chesapeake College known for?
Chesapeake College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
20%
Student body
3K
Career Outlook for degree at Wor–Wic Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,840Starting Salary: $31,400What is Wor–Wic Community College known for?
Wor–Wic Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
42%
Student body
4K
Career Outlook for degree at Carroll Community College
Cost of Degree: $7,188Starting Salary: $35,600What is Carroll Community College known for?
Carroll Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
2021 Ranking Archive
Many of our 2024 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2023. That’s because we took a fundamentally different approach. For 2024 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.
- Montgomery College
- Baltimore City Community College
- Garrett College
- Hagerstown Community College
- College of Southern Maryland
- Chesapeake College
- Frederick Community College
- Carroll Community College
- Howard Community College
- Community College of Baltimore County
- Prince George's Community College
- Harford Community College
- Cecil College
- Wor–Wic Community College
- Allegany College of Maryland